Interview: Sex With Strangers (March 2010)

This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted via email with a bunch of Vancouver/Victoria bands who played this year's SXSW (South By South West Festival in Austin). They were selected to play at SXSW by applying via their Sonicbids account. Their official website isn't the usual bandname.com, I checked.



Please identify yourself(ves) for those reading, what you do in the band and who else plays in the band

My name is Hatch Benedict and I am the lead singer for the band, Sex With Strangers. Alongside me we have Magnus Magnum on bass, Wedge Beavers on Guitar, Bobbie Dunlop on vocals and Dallas Archangel on drums. We also have an iPod that goes everywhre with us...It's name is Jimothy.


Tell us a little about the history of the band

Magnus, Wedge and I have been playing music together, off and on, for nearly 15 years. We started out as a young crust-core, punk band in 1996 called Harvey Switched, then transformed into The Switch. We played and toured together until 2001 or so.

Magnus and I started going in more of an electronic direction in 2003, sporadically writing and recording songs with our prodcuer Mark Henning (Pure, Combine the Victorious). It took us a few years, but we finally put together some new material for an EP in 2006. We posted the stuff on MySpace under the name "Sex With Strangers" and things just rolled from there. The single "Dance Police" started to blow up online and the next thing you knew we were on our way. Wedge, Bobbie and Dallas joined the fold full-time and we've gone on to release two more full albums, "The Modern Seduction" and our new record "The Tokyo Steel".


How would you describe your sound

Robot-rock


Are there any emerging local bands that you really like?

Girlfriends & Boyfriends, Accost, Katastroyka come to mind...Very cool stuff happening in Vancouver right now!


Any good SXSW stories?

The fact that you can go an entire day and not pay for a drink is rather exciting. The whole scene down here is off-the-charts. Imagine the Olympics with way more interesting people and the smell of BBQ everywhere. It's the musical equivalent of Disneyland.

Seeing Cheap Trick getting interviewed up-close was strangely intoxicating as well.


Where and what was the best thing you ate while there?

The brisket at Stubb's. The single best piece of protein I will ever digest.


What's a song from the 80's that you really like?

"It Doesn't Really Matter" - Platinum Blonde


What's the coolest thing you've ever bought?

My first MircoKorg...It continues to be a hit-maker today.


What are your near-future plans band-wise?

One more round of brisket at Stubb's for starters. We're looking forward to the Canadian festival circuit this Summer, shooting a follow-up video to our single "New City Anthem", and then it's off to work on our next album...Which may or may not be about robots.


Thanks for doing the interview, you have the last word, say what you want to say

Bobbie's fond of the word "quagmier". Also, if you're in Vancouver, come check us out at The Shark Club on Saturday, March 27th with TV Heart Attack. I'm smuggling brisket back to share with everyone. Thanks!



http://www.myspace.com/sexwithstrangers